Daoism: Growth of a Religion - Assignment Example

?Daoism Introduction: Setting the Stage Dao (Tao)-ism is an essential product of the Chinese culture and theology. Irrespective of its integrity withChinese theology and culture, Daoism has played an important role in shaping character and life of numerous individuals from different parts of the world, specifically, in East and South East Asia. The scope of Daoism’s influence can also be indentified in various Western social disciplines as the Western counterparts have become highly interested in different forms of Daoist manifestations, namely, feng shui, acupuncture, T’ai-chi, and martial arts since post World War I scenario to an increasing extent (Hu, and Allen 3). In addition to the scenario, quest of Western materialism for peace has also provided Daoism with the opportunity for huge appreciation as a philosophical discipline. According to Eva Wong “Many people will experience, at least once in their lifetime, the urge to venture beyond the everyday world of the mundane into the world of spirit. These journeys into the spiritual world often take us into a universe we normally do not encounter in our daily lives, and allow us to explore regions of our consciousness that we have not before known” (1). While the Western philosophical discipline often fails to answer an individual’s questions regarding spiritual consciousness, Daoism, in this context, has been regarded as an effective source to solve these queries: “The spiritual landscape of Taoism is a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. It is also a land of silence and stillness. It can be friendly and attractive, and at the same time challenging and dangerous” (Wong 1). Irrespective of the fact that it is quite difficult to restrain Daoism within a particular time frame, however, it can be said approximately that in A.D. 215 journey of Daoism commenced as a religious discipline through initiatives of Cao Cao (Robinet, and Brooks 2). Like all the major religious disciplines Daoism is still very much alive and continuously evolving. Though Cao Cao can be identified as a prime figure in recognizing Daoism, however, it has been widely argued that Daoism has never been founded and it is continuously evolving through different dimensions of human lives (Hu, and Allen 6). Daoism as a Religious Discipline: The literal meaning of Dao or Tao is “the way, the road people walk on” (Hu, and Allen 3). There are numerous instances of wide usage of the terminology in various philosophical disciplines of ancient China and consequently also makes it clear that Daoism cannot be confined within scope a particular philosophical domain; rather the evaluative capacity of this discipline is actually a result of different ideologies: “The “Tao” of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing, Taoism’s foremost sacred text) was actually only one of many understandings of the word in ancient China. However, just as the “Tao” of the Tao Te Ching is the original force that encompasses all, the religion and philosophical system inspired by Tao Te Ching has also demonstrated inclusiveness by incorporating many other ancient understandings of the word into Taoism itself” (Hu, and Allen 3-4). Thus, the vast expanse of Daoism encompasses almost all dimensions of human life, especially in the Chinese cultural context. This integrity is one of the main reasons that the differencing limits between being Daoist and being Chinese is often blurred. Apart from scholarly and academic disciplines, the common people of China also encounter the problem when it comes to differentiating between being a Daoist and being a Chinese. The evolutionary process of the religious and philosophic discipline is so deeply associated with every dimension of Chinese socio-cultural existence that starting from daily life style, attitude towards life, personal philosophy, healthcare and even different incidents of the Chinese social history bear the evidence of the influence of Daoism: “Taoism has interacted with integrated many elements of what is now recognized as Chinese civilization, and, just as significantly, Taoism has brought these elements into the daily life of people. Thus … Taoism has grown and changed with Chinese culture and has become an integral part of Chinese culture” (Hu, Allen 4). The process of integrity between Daoism and Chinese culture, if requires to be understood, definitely needs a historical evaluation. It has already been mentioned that evolve of Daoism as a religious discipline cannot be indentified within a limited scope or by a specific date. While the notion of spiritual liberty rests at the core of Taoism, it is interesting to find that the same quest was present since the very beginning of theological development in Chinese culture. Instances in support of the argument can be found in ancient Chinese culture as there are evidences that “…tribal leaders made offerings to the sky, earth, mountains, valleys, and rivers to renew the bond between humanity and sacred powers …. We can still see some of those practices today in Taoist religious ceremonies and in the “moving meditation” and exercises of internal health” (Wong 3). The next phase of development can be observed during the Classical Period of the Chinese history (BCE 8th-3rd Century). The Classical period observed emergence of some of the greatest philosophers of all times in the Chinese history, such as, Lao-tzu, Han-fei-tzu, Confucius, and Mo-tzu. The philosophical upsurge during this time received its manifestation through the book Tao-te ching and consequently emphasized on aspects, such as, the philosophy of non-action as well as harmonious living. No matter how many ways the Daoism is interpreted in the recent times, however, it is interesting to see that each of the classification speaks about the harmonious existence among human beings through spiritual exploration. Finally, Daoism as a religious and philosophical discipline took concrete form in between the span of first and seventh century “… a form of Taoism that combined magic and devotion emerged” (Wong 3). Chang tao-ling was one of the most famous and recognized spiritual leaders during this phase and he took the prime initiate to provide Daoism as a form of organized religious and philosophical discipline. After Chang’s demise his followers “… complete the transformation of Taoism from a philosophy to an organized religion, creating a system of rituals, liturgies, and a priesthood” (Wong 3). The wide scope of Daoism and its involvement with that of the Chinese culture were becoming conspicuous since this time onward as different avenues of practicing the religion were opening up among different section of people. The peasants followed traditional Taoism the way religious leaders and priests were preaching. On the other hand, another section of Taoism also evolved which was mainly appreciated, followed and practiced by middle class and noble section of the society. By the end of third century this new form became so popular among Chinese aristocrats that Wei Huats’un (a Chinese nobleman) founded the Shang-ch’ing or High Pure school of Taoism (Wong 4). Compared to the traditional Taoist discipline “The Shang-ch’ing practitioners visualized images of deities, invoked the deities’ names, drew talismans, and entered into a mystical union with the sacred powers” (Wong 4). Irrespective of the fact that this form of Daoism is not practiced in recent times, however, influence of the same cannot be entirely denied as modern Daoist “sacred ceremonies and health arts” (Wong 4) often derive their inspiration from these forms. Quite almost parallel to the time frame special interest of Daoist practitioners was inclined over Daoist alchemy. The branch of Daoist practice was particularly focused on “cultivating health, longevity, and immortality, and is divided into external and internal alchemy” (Wong 4). According to the School of External Alchemy an individual can attain immortality with adequate, routine and systematic consumption of proper herbs and minerals. Starting from third century to seventh century this discipline was widely popular and practiced vigorously. The school of Internal Alchemy, on the other hand, completely opposed approach of its external counterpart and clearly opined that the only way to attain immortality is to transform mind and body from within. Despite both the schools emerged almost at the same time, however, wide appreciation of the external principles resisted proper acknowledgement of inner discipline. The situation remained same until tenth century as the tendency to practice ideologies of the external school declined (Wong 4). While Daoism as a religion was going on giving birth to various avenues that helped to a great extent in assimilation of the discipline with different dimension of Chinese culture, however, the philosophy of Daoism was becoming more flexible and pervasive through adequate synthesis with Buddhism and Confucianism, two other highly popular philosophical and theological sections in the Chinese cultural context. A question can naturally be raised that what are the elements that resulted in deviating people’s attention from appreciating Daoism as a religion to its philosophy. According to the historical references the former glory of Daoism was gradually declining since tenth century aftermath due to malpractices, overdependence on ritualism, and due to the use of “esoteric terminology and abused practices” (Wong 4). It is clear that the purity and spiritual essence of the religion was gradually being corrupted and consequently the urge was realized by some of the most noted scholars of the then time to clear the quagmire and restore Daoism to its former glory: “Tired of the empty jargon and realizing that spiritual development required a balance of physical health and mental clarity, sages like Wang Ch’ung-yang, CHe Hsiyi and Lu Tung-pin began to teach a form of Taoism that advocated the cultivation of both body and mind” (Wong 4). However, in order to introduce such radical changes it became necessary to derive positive influences from other philosophical sources. The importance of Confucianism and Buddhism can be realized in this context as these two philosophical approaches complemented the spirit of Daoism and consequently helped the scholars to overcome the barriers against its progress. This cultivated form of Daoism is widely practiced in the recent times and can be found within two major Daoist sects, namely Complete Reality School (Ch’uan-chen) and the Earlier Heaven Way(Hsien-t’ien Tao) (Wong 4-5). The fusion of philosophical essence from Buddhism and Confucianism clearly helped the Daoist scholars to expand scope of this religious and philosophical discipline. Consequently, several new branches of Daoism also opened that not only complemented and supplemented one another but also helped it to become an integral part of the Chinese cultural life. Among these avenues that are quite in practice even in the recent times are: Magical Taoism or the way of power, Divinational Taoism or the Way of Seeing, ceremonial Taoism or the Way of Devotion, Internal-Alchemical Taoism or the Way of Transformation and finally Action and Karma Taoism or the Way of Right Action (Wong 5-6). Once the influences from Buddhism and Confucianism are mingled with these disciplines they not only became flexible but also emerged as more organized in terms of teaching common people to emphasize on physical and spiritual integrity so that the process of attaining spiritual freedom even in a situation of total materialism becomes possible. Conclusion: Daoism as one of the major philosophical and religious disciplines of the Chinese culture is not only integrally weaved with daily lives of Chinese people but also has influenced people from different parts of the globe, especially from East and Southeaster Asia in the context of attaining spiritual liberty. The course of time has also proved that principles of Daoism are equally applicable in Western social context when it comes to satisfaction of individual quest from material possession to spiritual liberty. Though emergence of Daoism cannot be identified in terms of any specific date, however, as an organized religion it became mostly popular during third to seventh century. By the end of tenth and early eleventh century Daoism declined from its former glory due to overdependence on rituals, orthodoxy and materialism. However, flexible nature of the religion and its theological foundation helped scholars of that time to derive positive inspirations from two other religious and philosophical disciplines, namely Confucianism and Buddhism. With the revival of Daoist philosophy it emerged as an effective instrument in hands of scholars to preach benefits of the discipline among common people from various perspectives, and consequently the goal of Daoism in terms of inspiring people to attain spiritual freedom became easily attainable. Works Cited Allen, William Cully. Taoism. London: Infobase Publishing. 2004. Brooks, Phyllis. and Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Sanford: The Stanford University Press. 1997. Wong, Eva. Taoism: An Essential Guide. 2nd Ed. Boston: Shambhala Publications. 2011. Read More